In minimally invasive surgical procedures, illumination of a working space may be required to facilitate use of surgical instruments. For example, in spinal surgery, access ports, comprising generally tubular, open-ended structures, are often used to provide access to a surgical site. The access ports may require illumination at the distal end thereof to facilitate the surgical procedure.
Achieving proper illumination of a surgical site during minimally invasive surgery can be difficult. In the current state of the art, external light sources are used to provide illumination to access ports. However, external light sources are unwieldy, and the link used to transmit the generated light to the access port can be cumbersome and block access by a surgeon to the port. For example, a surgeon may wear a head-mounted light in order to illuminate the working area at the base of an access port. Head-mounted light sources may require the surgeon to constantly direct the light with his or her head at an optimal angle, into the access port in order to view the working area. Also the light source is distant from the surgical site, increasing the likelihood of creating shadows and potentially obstructing the ability of the light to reach the working area when using surgical instruments inside the port. In addition, fiber optic cables, attached to the light, can encumber the surgeon and tether him or her to a light source.
Another option currently used by surgeons involves lights mounted on an overhead microscope. Though offering an un-tethered light source that can be positioned accurately above the port, one main limitation still exists in that the light source is still distant from the surgical site. Again this increases the likelihood of creating shadows and potentially obstructing the ability of the light to reach the working area.
Other alternatives for lighting a surgical site attach light sources into the interior of an access port to illuminate the work space. However, the use of a light source within the access port can reduce the available working area in the port and may hinder the use of instruments that enter and exit the port during surgery.